me and lazarus, we shovel all the ashes out

[gramarye]

Who: Wolfgang & Ilde
What: Some things with teeth are less dangerous than others.
Where: Somewhere along the river. Raven's Gate?
When: A few days after Badblood? Sometime? I DON'T KNOW STOP JUDGING ME GOD
Notes: None
Warnings: None

Wolfgang supposes he ought to be grateful he got out of that mess with only minor injuries -- a sprained wrist, currently in a splint for the next four days, and some minor gnawing on his shoulder and not, thankfully, his throat -- but for the most part he's focusing on how stupid he is. Of course he's stupid, running off into danger instead of stopping to think. Which would be a novel idea, really. Thinking before leaping. He is aware, dimly, that this tendency in himself got him in a lot of trouble when he was small -- but he can't remember the specifics, just that he's spent the last twenty years being berated by both parents for being reckless. Oh, well, he didn't die, maybe this time he'll finally take this as the learning opportunity it should be.

But none of his injuries were bad enough to keep him from work, thankfully, because he'd go crazy having to stay at home and do nothing. He needs to do a lot of things -- shop for furniture and clothes, etc, not to mention start poking around for medicinal options -- but he's not getting his next paycheck for another week and a half, so all that's impossible right now. With no friends and nothing to do, he's a bit out of sorts as to what to do with himself, especially at night. A lot of places are still open, but he's still broke. He's taken to walking around the city instead, wandering around and trying to familiarize himself with it -- that's the quickest way he knows of learning a new city, getting lost. And he's had a lot of practice at it.

It's verging on ridiculously late and he's ditched the bike the city brought with him -- riding it being too complicated with his wrist -- and opted to go for a walk instead, hoping maybe he'd tire himself out faster and be able to sleep. So far, no dice. It's late when he comes across a bunch of water -- which, not new, there's a ton of water everywhere in this city -- and catches, out of the corner of his eye, a familiar face. Ilde -- he knows her; they spoke briefly, she seemed to recognise him (how, he's not sure), she seems nice, he was worried after the Incident when he'd seen her post, but hadn't had time to respond. "Ilde," he calls, then hesitates.

Comments

[rhinemaid]

It's not his voice that she hears - she doesn't hear it, she's above the water when he calls - but she notices the hair and then remembers that she knows the person attached to it, and then she's swimming closer to the bank for a better look. The closer she gets, the clearer it is that she looks a little different in ways that light and water can't account for with blue-black eyes and skin like mother of pearl and a tail the same, propelling her on and still moving, restlessly, when she comes up alongside.

(There's what looks sort of like a distorted bitemark on the back of aforementioned tail, where it'd be high on her thigh if she had thighs right now, but it's hard to get a proper look and it's probably healing, anyway.)

"What are you doing out at this hour?" And what are you, his mother? Ilde is not actually in a position to criticize anyone else's judgement, bossy naiad tone aside.